Former McDonald’s employee spit in customer’s drink, police say
A former Las Vegas McDonald’s employee has been charged with spitting in a customer’s iced coffee in 2020 after police say the stomach-turning episode was caught on video surveillance, police and court records show.
Felicia O’Neal, 50, was booked Monday at the Clark County Detention Center on a single felony count of poisoning or adulterating food, water or medicine.
An arrest warrant for O’Neal, obtained Tuesday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, shows that the charge stems from a Las Vegas woman’s trip to a McDonald’s drive-thru in December 2020.
The woman said she was greeted by a rude employee at the restaurant, the address of which was not disclosed.
The woman told police that she asked to talked to a manager at the McDonald’s about the rude employee and the manager informed her that the dispute would be taken care of. The woman said she received a milkshake and french fries she ordered but had to wait for an employee to hand over an iced coffee.
“Once she was home and drinking her iced coffee she got to the bottom of the drink and sucked up mucus with the straw,” police said in the warrant.
The woman spit out the mucus and vomited. She called McDonald’s and spoke with a general manager who assured her the episode must have been a misunderstanding,” the warrant said, because “an employee wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that with cameras everywhere.”
About three days later, police said, the customer became sick and tested positive for COVID-19. Her children later tested positive for the virus. The woman provided a statement to McDonald’s insurance provider, American Family Insurance.
“In approximately mid-January she was informed by … American Family Insurance that the employee was caught on camera spitting in (her) drink and then also admitted to spitting in her drink,” police said.
Police said they obtained the video surveillance showing the employee spitting in the customer’s coffee and later confirmed the former employee’s identity as O’Neal.
Police said the video shows O’Neal “walking from the drive-through window area, towards the front counter, and as she is walking, she pulls her mask down from over her mouth and spits into the plastic cup.”
“Felicia is then seen walking to the ice machine and filling the cup up with ice and what appears to be coffee,” police said.
Justice Court records show an arrest warrant was issued for O’Neal in July 2021. She was arrested Monday, then released after posting bond.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.